He needs to offer proof to discredit the circumstantial but compelling evidence detailed in a story published by The Ringer, alleging Colangelo created Twitter accounts under fake names to attack critics, praise his decisions, criticize Sixers players and the former front office led by Sam Hinkie and reveal private information.

Can he prove it wasn’t him through a digital footprint, or in this case, lack of one on his devices? Short of that, will ownership, led by managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, believe Colangelo?

Let’s not shortchange the gravity of the situation: Colangelo’s job is at stake. The Sixers will conduct an investigation and reveal their findings, according to a statement from the team.

Colangelo maintains he does not know the origin or motives behind the accounts.

This is a peculiar situation for Colangelo, who is a prominent and longstanding member of the NBA community. He is the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo, who is a four-time NBA executive of the year, owned the Phoenix Suns and re-established USA Basketball’s dominance at the Summer Olympics.

The younger Colangelo has credentials, too. He is a two-time NBA executive of the year with Phoenix and Toronto and was brought to Philadelphia to help elevate the Sixers from a team with talent to a championship contender.

While dots – specific details pertaining to players, the team and Colangelo's personal life that only an insider would know – connect Colangelo to the accounts, there is a not a definitive line that establishes Colangelo’s guilt. There is enough ambiguity and alternative theories to account for the multiple social media accounts.

The story is not congruent either. Why would Colangelo risk a million-dollar job, his reputation and credibility on something as trivial as Twitter? There is no reward with an incredible risk.

Colangelo wouldn’t be the first person to use an alias to respond to something on social media. But to do it with fake accounts?

Earlier this season, I asked Colangelo if he planned on signing a player and he replied that he could not answer because it was against league rules to talk about a player under contract with another team. He played it by the book, and while we truly never know who a person is in the business, this would surprise people close to Colangelo if these allegations are true.

Alternatives theories? Maybe it was someone close to Colangelo, trying to protect him and not foreseeing the complications. Perhaps, it was an enemy, someone who wants to see Colangelo’s reputation destroyed.

Setting up Colangelo for the fall in that manner requires savvy planning and a big-picture view. While that may seem preposterous to some, in the weird world of Twitter, it’s a plausible theory despite no evidence of that yet.

Either way – and this is just the way it is today – it’s on Colangelo to prove he wasn’t responsible for the accounts and the damage.